The Myth and Reality of Black Consumer Power

The Myth and Reality of Black Consumer Power

Morgan State University Professor Jared Ball joins the show to talk about his new book on black consumer power.

Dave Zirin
Copy Link
Facebook
X (Twitter)
Bluesky
Pocket
Email

This week we talk to Jared Ball, professor of communication studies at Morgan State University in Baltimore. We discuss his new book, The Myth and Propaganda of Black Buying Power, the history of the concept, and its connection to black radical politics.

We also have some Choice Words about The Last Dance for its uncritical look at Michael Jordan, and its lopsided attack on Jerry Krause. In addition, we have Just Stand Up and Just Sit Down awards to the first draft pick of the 2020 draft, Joe Burrow, for using his platform to talk about poverty, and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and the league for the way they presented the NFL draft, particularly the self-serving celebration of first responders. All that and more on this week’s Edge of Sports!

Jared Ball
The Myth of Black “Buying Power”
Twitter: @IMIXWHATILIKE

Zirin
The Unfortunate Ugliness of ‘The Last Dance’

Subscribe to The Nation to support all of our podcasts: thenation.com/podcastsubscribe.

Disobey authoritarians, support The Nation

Over the past year you’ve read Nation writers like Elie Mystal, Kaveh Akbar, John Nichols, Joan Walsh, Bryce Covert, Dave Zirin, Jeet Heer, Michael T. Klare, Katha Pollitt, Amy Littlefield, Gregg Gonsalves, and Sasha Abramsky take on the Trump family’s corruption, set the record straight about Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s catastrophic Make America Healthy Again movement, survey the fallout and human cost of the DOGE wrecking ball, anticipate the Supreme Court’s dangerous antidemocratic rulings, and amplify successful tactics of resistance on the streets and in Congress.

We publish these stories because when members of our communities are being abducted, household debt is climbing, and AI data centers are causing water and electricity shortages, we have a duty as journalists to do all we can to inform the public.

In 2026, our aim is to do more than ever before—but we need your support to make that happen. 

Through December 31, a generous donor will match all donations up to $75,000. That means that your contribution will be doubled, dollar for dollar. If we hit the full match, we’ll be starting 2026 with $150,000 to invest in the stories that impact real people’s lives—the kinds of stories that billionaire-owned, corporate-backed outlets aren’t covering. 

With your support, our team will publish major stories that the president and his allies won’t want you to read. We’ll cover the emerging military-tech industrial complex and matters of war, peace, and surveillance, as well as the affordability crisis, hunger, housing, healthcare, the environment, attacks on reproductive rights, and much more. At the same time, we’ll imagine alternatives to Trumpian rule and uplift efforts to create a better world, here and now. 

While your gift has twice the impact, I’m asking you to support The Nation with a donation today. You’ll empower the journalists, editors, and fact-checkers best equipped to hold this authoritarian administration to account. 

I hope you won’t miss this moment—donate to The Nation today.

Onward,

Katrina vanden Heuvel 

Editor and publisher, The Nation

Dave ZirinDave Zirin is the sports editor at The Nation. He is the author of 11 books on the politics of sports. He is also the coproducer and writer of the new documentary Behind the Shield: The Power and Politics of the NFL.


Ad Policy
x